Setting The Stage:
Indiana State continues year three of the Kevin McKenna era on Saturday, December 19 when the Sycamores travel to Toledo. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. (ET). On the radio airwaves, the game will be live on The Crock 92.7 FM as well as online at GoSycamores.com. Brian Fritz will call the action live on the radio broadcast. The game will also be made available live on UTRockets.com as part of Toledo's online streaming pay-per-view service.

ABOUT THE COACHES:
Kevin McKenna (Creighton '93) is in his third season as the head coach at Indiana State (32-40). In his first season with the Sycamores, McKenna led the team to its highest win total since the 2000-01 season and an impressive 12-2 record at home in the Hulman Center. Last season, he led the Sycamores to six victories in their final seven regular season games, including three consecutive league road wins in the span of 10 days. McKenna came to Indiana State after spending nine seasons as an assistant coach at Creighton, where he helped the Bluejays advance to four NCAA tournament appearances. From 2001-05, McKenna spent four years as the head coach (89-33) at NCAA Division II Nebraska-Omaha, where he guided the Mavericks to four consecutive 20-win seasons and three appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. McKenna is one of just two NCAA Division I head men's basketball coaches who have won an NBA World Championship (with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982). Florida International's Isiah Thomas is the other. He is the only NCAA Division I men's basketball head coach to earn both an NBA and CBA Championship and is the only person in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference to win a MVC Regular Season Title , MVC Tournament Championship, NBA Championship and CBA title. McKenna is 1-0 against Toledo and is 4-4 against current members of the Mid-American Conference.

Gene Cross (Illinois, '94) is in his second year as Toledo's head coach and is the Rockets' 17th head coach in the program's history. He served as an assistant coach for 12 seasons at Illinois-Chicago (1996-02), DePaul (2002-05), Virginia (2005-06) and Notre Dame (2006-08). He was a part of teams that participated in postseason play ini each of the last seven years as an assistant coach. Cross received recognition for his impressive history of recruiting success as an assistant coach. He was named to the list of "Ten Assistants Ready For The Next Step" by CBSSportsline.com in 2007 and also named one of the top 25 recruiters in college basketball by Rivals.com in 2005. The 2003 class recruited while he was at DePaul was ranked iti the top 25 in the country by CSTV.com. Cross is 0-1 against Indiana State, the lone Missouri Valley Conference team he has faced as a head coach.

SERIES HISTORY
Indiana State holds a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series against Toledo by virtue of its 69-62 victory last season at Hulman Center as part of the Bracketbuster series.

A Little History:
Indiana State is currently in its 114th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,337-1,135 all-time on the hardwood. The Sycamores are 28 contests away from playing their historic 2,500th game in the history of the program.

Bracketbuster Notes:
Indiana State downed this week's opponent Toledo by the score of 69-62 last season at Hulman Center as part of the Brackbusters series. The Sycamores are 3-2 in the original game as part of the Bracketbuster series, and are 1-3 in the return portion of the series the following year. ISU's only return game victory as part of the Bracketbusters series came in the 2006-07 season opener when they took a 73-71 victory over Western Michigan after downing the same team one year earlier on the road, 59-57. ISU dropped both games to Buffalo in the first two seasons of its participation in Bracketbusters (03-04 & 04-05); swept Western Michigan (05-06 & 06-07); was swept by Miami (Ohio) (06-07 & 07-08); split with Murray State (07-08 & 08-09) and downing Toledo last year. Overall, ISU is 4-5 against Bracketbusters opponents.

Bracketbuster Notes League-Wide:
This week, Loyola faced Bradley and Indiana State takes on Toledo in BracketBuster 'return' games. So far this season, the Valley, collectively, is 5-4 in the returns. Including last year's 7-3 slate in BracketBusters games, the Valley is 40-24 all-time, and the MVC is 41-21 in the return games, giving the MVC an overall slate of 81-44 in games as a result of the scheduling concept.

Ability To Bounce Back:
With its 60-54 victory over Oral Roberts, ISU improved to 17-23 under third-year head coach Kevin McKenna in games following a loss. The Sycamores opened the week with a 68-63 setback to Ball State, but were able to bounce back for the victory over ORU, who were coming off a one-point victory against Missouri earlier in the week. This season, ISU is 3-0 in games which following a loss, having not lost consecutive games this season.

Dynamic Duo:
Indiana State has scored exactly 600 points through its nine games this season, an average of 66.7 ppg. Two of the big reasons for Indiana State's early season success is the play of Dwayne Lathan and Harry Marshall, who have combined to score 216 of the team's points, which equates to 36 percent of the team's offensive success. Lathan and Marshall are tied for the team lead in double digit scoring performances as both have posted seven so far this season. ISU has put 24 scorers in double figures this season, while Lathan and Marshall have accounted for 14 of them.

Led By Lathan:
Sophomore guard Dwayne Lathan scored in double digits against both Ball State and Oral Roberts as he has now scored 10 or more points in seven of his eight games played. Lathan began the week by leading ISU with 16 points off the bench against Ball State, hitting 6-of-9 shots from the field and pulled down five rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Lathan led the Sycamores once again in the victory over Oral Roberts with 16 points, hitting 6-of-14 shots from the field, including a huge second half 3-pointer which helped spur ISU to the win. Lathan added a team-best seven rebounds, an assist and two steals in 32 minutes of action. Lathan led ISU with 16 ppg over the two-game stretch, hitting 12-of-23 shots and was 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) at the free throw line. Lathan paced the team with 6.0 rebounds per game.

U.S. Marshalls:
Senior guard Harry Marshall averaged 14.5 ppg this past week as the Sycamores split a pair of contests against Ball State and Oral Roberts. Marshall led the team by playing an average of 35 minutes per game and hit 11-of-23 shots from the field, for a 47.8 percent mark. Marshall tied for the team lead with four 3-pointers, hitting 57.1 percent of his attempts and was a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Marshall added four rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Marshall tied a season-high with 15 points in the victory over Oral Roberts. He posted a season-best eight assists in the win, just one shy of his career-best of nine which came last season against Illinois State. Marshall scored 14 points with four rebounds and five assists against Ball State.

Double Dipping On The Road:
Indiana State defeated Western Kentucky and Arkansas State in back-to-back road non-conference games. It marked the first time ISU has won consecutive road non-conference games since the 2005-06 campaign when the Sycamores downed Butler and Western Michigan. In fact, the Sycamores won all three of their non-MVC road contests that season, adding in a 66-58 victory as well at Eastern Illinois. ISU was 8-1 in non-league games that season.

Call Him Double Digit Dwayne:
After sitting out the season opener against Nebraska-Kearney, ISU sophomore Dwayne Lathan has reached double figures scoring seven of the eight games he has participated in. His season high came with 18 points against Colorado State and he scored 15 against Western Kentucky. Lathan added 14 points against Coastal Carolina and Milwaukee as well as 12 points in his Sycamore debut against LSU. Recently, Lathan scored 16 against both Ball State and Oral Roberts during the Sycamores' recent two-game homestand.

MVC Road Warriors:
The league has recorded a 14-9 record in true road contests this year. The 14 road wins are more than all of last year (10). In recent history, road success has translated into multiple bids in the NCAA Tournament. The league is on the road eight times this week.

Recent MVC Non-Conference Road Records
2009-10 -- 14-9
2008-09 -- 10-24 (1 NCAA, 2 NIT, 3 CIT, 1 CBI)
2007-08 -- 18-26 (1 NCAA, 3 NIT, 1 CBI)
2006-07 -- 19-20 (2 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2005-06 -- 17-18 (4 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2004-05 -- 14-20 (3 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2003-04 -- 12-23 (2 NCAA, 2 NIT)

A November To Remember:
Indiana State opened the 2009-10 campaign with a flurry of activity as the Sycamores played a school record seven games in the month of November. The result was a school record five victories in the first month of the season. ISU's 5-2 record mark in the month of November trumps the Sycamores' 4-2 ledger at the end of November in 2006-07.

Sycamores Use Exciting Finish At WKU To Go 2-2 In NIT Season Tipoff:
The Indiana State Sycamores used a free throw by senior Rashad Reed with one-tenth of a second showing on the E.A. Diddle Arena game clock to down Western Kentucky 64-63. The win over the Hilltoppers gave the Sycamores a 2-2 split in four games played as part of the event. ISU dropped its opener in the NIT at LSU then rebounded with a victory over Milwaukee. The Sycamores fell to Coastal Carolina in Bowling Green, Ky., before the dramatic victory against the Hilltoppers.

Long Time Coming Against Western Kentucky:
Indiana State downed the Hilltoppers for the first time since the 1941 season with its 64-63 victory at Western Kentucky. The two teams only played three other times since ISU won the first game of what is now a five game series. The Sycamores broke WKU's 15-game winning streak at home, where they had won 29-of-30 previous meetings. The Sycamores' victory halted an attempt by the Hilltoppers to win their 500th game inside venerable Diddle Arena.

Dwayne Lathan Named MVC Newcomer Of The Week:
Indiana State sophomore Dwayne Lathan was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week following his standout performances this past week against LSU and Milwaukee in the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tipoff as well a home contest versus Colorado State as part of the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Conference Challenge. Lathan paced the team by averaging 14.7 ppg and was also the team's leading rebounder with a 5.3 average. Lathan was perfect from the field against LSU and Milwaukee, hitting all 10 of his field goal attempts. He ended the three-game stretch with a blazing 76.2 field goal percentage, hitting 16-of-21 shots. He was 1-for-3 from 3-point range. Lathan also was effective at the free throw line, hitting 11-of-14, for a 78.6 percentage. He added four assists, a blocked shot and a pair of steals. He led ISU to a 65-60 victory over Colorado State by scoring 18 points, including a trio of highlight reel dunks in transition. Lathan posted 14 points against Milwaukee and had 12 points, all in the second half against LSU.

Stepping Up To The Challenge:
Indiana State did its part for its league in the inaugural Mountain West/Missouri Valley Conference Challenge as the Sycamores downed Colorado State 65-60 at Hulman Center. All nine of the Mountain West Conference schools will face off against a predetermined member of the MVC with the exception of Evansville. Thus far, the league is 3-2 against the Mountain West in the 'Challenge' with the final four games scheduled over the next week.

Best Shooting Performance In Five Seasons:
Indiana State connected on 30-of-52 field goals in the 76-63 victory against Milwaukee. That performance equates to a 57.7 percent mark. The 57.7 percent showing is the best by an Indiana State state team since they hit 59.6 percent from the field in January of 2004 against Drake.

No Place Like Home To Open The Season:
Indiana State won its season opener for the eighth time in the last ten seasons by taking an 88-58 victory over Nebraska-Kearney at Hulman Center. When the Sycamores have opened the season at home, the Sycamores have been victorious in each of its last 18 attempts. The Sycamores have won each of their season openers which have occured at Hulman Center since falling by the score of 66-63 to Armstrong State to open the 1979-80 campaign.

Local Flavor Of Team To Get Some Seasoning:
All four of Indiana State's incoming freshmen are expected to redshirt this season. Jake Odum, a native of Terre Haute, along with RJ Mahurin (Rockville, Ind.,) and Logan & Lucas Eitel (nearby Marshall, Ill.) will all sit out their initial seasons in the program and take a redshirt season. Subject to change as the season progresses, the four local student-athletes will push the total to of six freshmen to redshirt in head coach Kevin McKenna's three seasons. Jordan Printy redshirted during the 2007-08 campaign while Koang Doluony took a redshirt season last year and made his Sycamore debut on Friday against Nebraska-Kearney.

Sycamore Signees:
Indiana State inked three student-athletes to national letters of intent as part of the NCAA Early Signing Period. Steve McWhorter, Myles Walker and Jake Kitchell comprised the Sycamores' 2009 Signing Class.

McWhorter, a 6-2, 185, point guard from Racine, Wis., won a Division 3 state championship last season at Saint Catherines High School as he averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 assists and shot 57.6 percent from the field for coach Bob Letsch. McWhorter took over as the starter at point guard when he was a sophomore. As a junior, he was on a team with nine seniors, and his talent shined in the state tournament. He had 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds in a 48-34 state championship victory against La Crosse Aquinas. In the state semifinals, McWhorter had nine points and nine assists.

"Steve McWhorter is first and foremost a leader," McKenna commented. "He is a very quick, aggressive point guard whose strengths are passing, ability to penetrate and defense. He continues to improve as a shooter and he has experience playing for a quality championship caliber program. He had a great summer and is working hard this fall as well. He will fill a need for us with the graduation of Harry Marshall and Rashad Reed next season. We feel very strong about the abilities he is going to be able to bring right away into the program."

Walker is a 6-8, 250, junior college post player from South Plains Junior College who averaged 7.4 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and 38.6 percent (32 for 83) from the free-throw line as a freshman last season for coach Steve Green. Walker's best game was a 24-point, 13-rebound performance on Jan. 1. He averaged 1.0 blocks per game with a season-high of five, and he twice had three steals in a game.

At Antonian College Prep in San Antonio, Texas he played for head coach Andre Walker. Myles was named to the all-state team three times and all-district four times. He was once named to the North-South All-Star tournament. As a middle linebacker for the football team Myles earned all-state recognition three times and played in the Army All-American Bowl. He also ran track, boasting a time of 48.07 seconds in the 400 meter dash.

"Myles Walker is a good post player prospect," McKenna said. "He plays the game with a physical presence especially on defense. Myles is an extremely athletic player who can score around the basket. His physical presence was one of the things that attracted us to Myles because that is something that I feel we need to improve on. He has been very well coached in high school and at the junior college levels and that also was a key factor in his recruitment."

Kitchell is a 6-9, 225, power forward from Union Mills, Ind., and played for coach John Steinhilber at South Central High School. Kitchell averaged 20 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and six blocks per game for a team that finished the 2008-09 season with a record of 17-5. He is expected to be a first team all-state selection later this month in the upcoming edition of the annual Hoosier Basketball Magazine. He was a member of the Indiana Junior All-Stars last spring.

"Jake Kitchell is a inside/outside post player that will remind those that watch our games of Jay Tunnell," McKenna commented. "He is a tough, physical player that can shoot from the perimeter well. He comes from both a winning high school and AAU program (SYF). He has put up some big numbers in several categories and we are looking forward to having him join the program next season."

Preseason Valley Predictions:
The Indiana State basketball team has been picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll as announced today by the league office. Additionally, senior Harry Marshall and junior transfer Jake Kelly were named Preseason All-MVC Honorable Mention selections in the annual vote of conference head coaches, media and sports information directors.

The Sycamores' seventh place predicted finish is its highest since the 2001-02 campaign when Indiana State was picked to finish third. Last season, ISU won six of its final seven regular season contests to finish with an 11-21 record, including winning three MVC road contests in the span of ten days. Indiana State captured the league's No. 8 seed at the State Farm MVC Tournament and downed Drake in the opening round before being nipped in the waning moments against eventual league champion Northern Iowa, 71-67, in the tournament quarterfinals.

UNI is picked to repeat as the league's champion with 38 first place votes (389 points) and are followed by the only other team to garner a first place tally, Creighton (336). Picked to finish third is Illinois State (299), followed by Southern Illinois (272), Wichita State (216), Bradley (208), Indiana State (173), Drake (105), Missouri State (92) and Evansville (55).

Marshall was an All-MVC Honorable Mention selection at the end of last season after leading the team with a 13.6 ppg average. Kelly will make his Sycamore debut this season after earning All-Big Ten Honorable Mention status last year before transferring from Iowa.

Up Next:
Indiana State will take on IUPUI December 23 at Hulman Center. Tipoff is slated for Noon (ET).